Nebula: a Star Trek Adventure
by Agropelter
Summary: Join the adventures of the newly-commissioned Federation starship Confluence and her crew and captain as they, of course, seek out new life and new civilizations!


Far below the orbiting shipyard, the rusty surface of Mars lay silent and passive, a landscape full of crags and dust plains that was at the same time both alien yet growing more familiar to Captain Holdsworth, as she'd been stationed on the planet's surface for two months, in preparation of the final and long-awaited completion of the ship she'd been dreaming of boarding and commanding for years and years. She had pored over every system, checked and rechecked every bridge officer's bio, and said her farewells to the family she wouldn't see for five years. She had trained physically as well, making sure her body was as fit to command a ship as was her mind - a task that was not easy, as mental acuity had always come easier to Amelia than physical endurance or strength. All those preparations were done, and here she was in orbit around the Red Planet, in drydock at the United Federation of Planets' shipyard at Utopia Planitia, staring out the viewport at the magnificent _Sovereign_ -class vessel that was to be her home and charge. The angles and curves of the U.S.S. _Confluence_ stirred Amelia's imagination in a fit of eldritch passion, a feeling she knew hearkened back to the earliest days of exploration, when all the lust for the unknown was poured into the awaiting vessel. She was traveling via turbolift towards the airlock, accompanied by Admiral McGale.

'She's ready. Are you?', McGale queried, smirking. The bespectacled and grey-haired Lawrence McGale and Amelia Holdsworth went way back, McGale was Amelia's Shipboard Tactics professor at Starfleet Academy.

'I sure hope so, I'd hate to fail my professors', Amelia retorted with a wry grin.

'You know, it's pretty rare for someone to go right out of the Academy to a starship's bridge,' McGale said, letting a little concern creep into his friendly tone. 'I knew you'd make a fine Tactical Officer, that's why I recommended you for the _Peregrine_ , but I'd be lying if I said I was confident you'd be ready for command only two years later.'

Amelia was not upset by the Admiral's concern, she knew he was only looking out for her. More immediately, he was looking at her from behind anachronistic glasses which corrected a farsightedness he'd never bothered to get surgically repaired. Jeremy McGale had always wanted to feel connected to the explorers of old, and cold steel he could tuck away in a pocket was a tangible and convivial mechanism. Coupled with an easygoing attitude, soft eyes, and a wrinkled smile, he was a very well-liked Admiral. Amelia thought a moment and replied,

'It's not an opportunity I take lightly. Being one of the youngest captains in history is a tremendous honor, but it's a lot of pressure, too. There were a lot of times, though, on the _Peregrine_ , when I felt like I was destined to command. I felt it in my bones.'

'Don't let your good fortune go to your head, Captain. Overconfidence gets crewmen killed.'

Amelia flushed a bit, it was hard not to think highly of yourself when your superiors went out of their way to be effusive in their praise over the course of most of your meteoric, albeit brief, career. She had a very healthy ego, but there was a part of her also that resented being called 'gifted' or 'special', that felt like she had cheated Starfleet somehow by having everything come so easily, like she hadn't earned it. Sometimes she could swear she saw those thoughts flitting behind the eyes of her peers, watching her with disdain. As someone who saw herself in command one day, Amelia had always placed dubious weight on others' opinions of her - she'd imagined it'd be hard to command a crew that didn't like its captain. She knew, at least, that they wouldn't think she had been gifted opportunities because of her looks. She tried to be as unassuming as possible, to deflect any of the nastier rumors that always spring up when a female makes her way up the ranks of male-majority superiors. Her hair was blond, and she kept it short, just above her shoulders, in a bob. Her figure was average, and she was slightly tall at five-ten. She saw no need to accentuate it, and indeed usually requisitioned male uniforms since the curve-hugging female editions made her feel self-conscious. She wanted to be listened to, not looked at.

'A lot of things get crewmen killed, Admiral, but only captains get them home. I'm not out here to make orphans.'

And with that, the lift arrived at the airlock, and the first door slid open with a familiar _whoosh_. McGale turned to Amelia, and pride swelled in his chest as he reached out his chestnut-colored hand, which Holdsworth shook anxiously.

'I've seen students come and go, and starship captains ship out by the dozen, but I don't think I can remember any so...fascinating. Best of luck to you, Captain Holdsworth, I look forward to hearing all about your discoveries', the Admiral gestured towards the airlock's viewport and the starfield that lay potent and waiting 'out there.'

Amelia grew consternated for just a second and hurriedly asked,

'Permission to speak freely, sir?'.

'Granted, Captain.' McGale replied, expecting a personal farewell. Instead, Amelia blurted out,

'Sir, I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you before I leave...with the Gamma and Beta quadrants holding so much promise, why does Starfleet have me puddlejumping in the Alpha Quadrant?'

Admiral McGale, taken slightly aback by such a forward question, collected himself for a few moments and very deliberately replied,

'You have to understand, Captain, that you're considered a...question mark. I was able to convince the Fleet Admiral of your talent and qualification, but only under the condition that your first tour be near home. Prove yourself here in the mostly-unexplored Alpha Quadrant and your next tour will likely be your own choice. You'd still be younger than most captains on their first tour, I might add.' McGale's tone was chastising, and Amelia was a little embarrassed she'd asked such a question, but at the same time relieved that she'd put it out in the open. Still, she didn't want that to be her sendoff with the Admiral, who'd put his reputation on the line to recommend her.

'I understand the risk you're taking on me, sir. I know what Starfleet expects of me. And I know what the people on that ship need me to be. I'm proud to wear this badge', as she pounded on her chest that bore a Starfleet commbadge, 'and I'm going to go out there and earn my place in Starfleet.'

The first door closed.

The second door opened.

And Captain Amelia Holdsworth was on board the USS _Confluence_.


End file.
